War 'making world safer'

George Bush is applauded by vice president Dick Cheney (left) and House speaker Dennis Hastert as he begins his state of the union address. Photograph: Getty Images

President George Bush last night declared the US to be on a mission to "lead the cause of freedom" and claimed his doctrine of pre-emptive military action had advanced the cause of democracy and non-proliferation around the world.

In a defiantly worded state of the union address to Congress, the president significantly scaled down his claims over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction but was unapologetic over the country's invasion, arguing Saddam Hussein's removal had made the world "a better and safer place".

"Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better," the president declared to the joint session of Congress. He said the resolve shown in the Iraqi campaign had persuaded Libya to renounce weapons of mass destruction.

"For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible and no one can now doubt the word of America," Mr Bush said.

In the passage on foreign policy, the president appeared to expand the "Bush Doctrine" of pre-emptive military engagement, to a broader goal of promoting democracy around the world, by force if necessary.

"America is a nation with a mission and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire.

"Our aim is a democratic peace, a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman. America acts in this cause with friends and allies at our side, yet we understand our special calling: This great republic will lead the cause of freedom."

The hour-long speech, which in effect marked the launch of his campaign for re-election, also included a list of domestic measures like publicly funded occupational training and broader access to federal health insurance to mitigate the impact of continuing high rates of unemployment and poverty. An uneven economic recovery has so far failed to generate significant numbers of jobs.

But the president began with the US military struggles abroad. Despite uncertainty over Iraq's future and the mounting death toll there (more than 500 US soldiers have now died), he also insisted that Washington was not ready to make compromises that endangered national interests simply to win more international support.

"There is a difference ... between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few," he said. "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people."

The combative statement comes at a time when the US is negotiating with Iraqi leaders and the UN over how best to handle the transition to self-rule. The president's advisors are hoping to stage a major troop withdrawal by early September. But such a withdrawal would be dependent on a peaceful transition, which now looks in doubt.

The current head of the Iraqi governing council, Adnan Pachachi, whom the US state department has long promoted as a possible future leader of a democratic Iraq, was flown to Washington to hear the speech from the gallery of the House of Representatives. Ahmad Chalabi, the Pentagon's favourite, was also in Washington, reflecting the fact that some of the uncertainty over Iraq's fate reflected divisions within the Bush administration.

US soldiers who had served in Iraq were also in the hall of the House of Representatives to accept the thanks of the president and the legislature.

"By bringing hope to the oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America more secure," the president said.

Last year, Mr Bush used the state of the union speech to accuse Iraq of concealing weapons of mass destruction, and in 2002 to declare the existence of an "axis of evil", consisting of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. This year, there was no direct mention of the axis of evil. Rather, the president said, "different threats require different strategies". He said he would continue to insist North Korea and Iran abandon their unconventional weapons programmes.

"As part of the offensive against terror, we are also confronting the regimes that harbour and support terrorists, and could supply them with nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons," he said.

Last night, he did not repeat the claims he made last year that Iraq had stockpiles of banned weapons. Instead, using carefully chosen words, he said "weapons of mass destruction-related program activities" had been found in Iraq.

"Had we failed to act" he said, those programmes would have continued. Nor was there mention of alleged links the Saddam regime and al-Qaida.

Democrats, however, insisted that the discrepancy between the claims in last year's State of the Union address (some of which were later disavowed by the administration), and actual findings in Iraq, be the subject of a public enquiry.

The Democrats have also rebuked Mr Bush for his handling of the economy, pointing to the disappearance of 2.3 million jobs during his presidency.

One of the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, General Wesley Clark said yesterday: "The sad fact is that today, two years after he coined the term, we've got a new axis of evil. It's one our president has created. It's an axis of fiscal policies that threaten our future ... foreign policies that threaten our security ... and domestic policies that put families dead last."

Mr Bush hit back in his speech, taking on his rivals on domestic issues as he outlined plans to spend $120m (about £66m) on job retraining, and expansion in public health insurance, both traditionally Democratic themes.

"We must respond by helping more Americans gain the skills to find good jobs in our new economy," he said. To placate social conservatives meanwhile, Mr Bush also repeated his determined stand against gay marriage, an issue that has gained in prominence following recent legal moves to permit such unions in the state of Massachusetts.

He also addressed the rising cost of healthcare in the US with a series of measures to help pay for medical expenses and insurance.

Yesterday, UN nuclear inspectors joined American and British experts in Tripoli in preparation for the destruction of Libya's weapons programmes, following Colonel Muammer Gadafy's surprise act of conciliation.

White House officials also pointed to increased cooperation from Syria in stopping Islamist guerrillas crossing its borders into neighbouring Iraq, and Iran's agreement to accept more intrusive United Nations inspections of its nuclear programme, as key examples of Bush successes.

Both developments, the administration says, were the result of resolute American action, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq.

"It is fair to say that Iraq created a new reality in which this sort of progress is possible," an administration official said.